I have no idea what kind of distribution Solina has outside Finland, but you can always ask from them how to get the LP. Jori Sjöroos of Thergothon/ThisEmptyFlow/MagentaSkycode is the other guy behind Solina Records, so you can torment him with Thergothon related questions as well.

Been listening to this fucker a lot lately. Brilliant album, though not their best, IMO. Somebody should rerelease the material they released on Plastic Passion, Three Empty Boys and the Useless and Empty Songs MCD. The things Eibon did with Nowafter and The Album are very much appreciated, but I still need that Useless... original (released in, what, 100+ CDr's?). Enormous music, diminutive circulation._________________http://qvadrivivm.blogspot.com

Since no else has I'll chime in with the typical "when come the us distro"?

I've always really dug this album, bought the cd when it came out due to the Thergothon affiliation not knowing what to expect. I actually went back and checked out old Cure albums that I didn't realize were good due to it as well.

I'll second that US distributors request! This is another one of my favorite releases, we even had planned to do cover of Nowafter and/or Useless in my old band the Gault before we disbanded._________________"...that magnificent deer has vanished."

To me Magenta Skycode is one of the best albums from Finland. Although their best song was on Plastic Passion's compilation tape, namely Of Blossom And Decay. Was this song later released on cd? I've heard the later releases only briefly, maybe I should revisit them.
In a series of unpublished interviews, here's one I did with Niko Sirkiä sometime in 1996. I've lost the paper that had the questions, so I had to fork out the questions from memory and from the answers. I left out the parts dealing with Hammer Of Damnation zine & Demonosound Label.

THIS EMPTY FLOW:

How did This Empty Flow get started? Why was Sjöroos kicked out from Thergothon at one point, and what brought you two back together again?

First of all, This Empty Flow and Thergothon are totally different bands, and even though there are similarities in the line-ups, there's no point in making comparisons. I will nevertheless go back in time briefly to correct a misunderstanding. Jori Sjöroos was never really out of Thergothon, it's just that at one point it felt like that, because of certain uncertainties and arguments. Stream From The Heavens was done with that known trio...

And now to the point. Two or three years ago Jori showed me some songs he had made, songs that were lacking lyrics. I, on the other hand, had all sorts of lyrics written on paper, so the cooperation started again without thinking too much about it. We have been friends for a number of years. We both got to know Aku Mattila on our own, and there wasn't much planning involved when it comes to his involvement either, it just happened.

So far This Empty Flow has worked with the three of us without any problems, and I don't see any reasons why it wouldn't work like that also in the future. We all share a certain vision of what This Empty Flow is, and that is guiding the band to the right direction.

How did the deal with Avantgarde came about? Some other bands, like Unholy, have been everything but content with the way Avantgarde has worked.

The deal with Avantgarde came almost too easily. I've been in contact with the boss of the label, Roberto, for years, so I sent a tape to him that had a few songs from This Empty Flow on it. Roberto presumably liked our music. I'm not the right person to comment on others problems with Avantgarde, but I have no complaints.

Misunderstandings are of course possible, if parties involved are not flexible enough. As these are small circles, it is worth remembering that delays and other problems can occur, and usually they happen when you are not expecting them to happen.

Avantgarde owes us at the moment a small sum of money, but we trust them that things get sorted out in the end. I think there's a mutual trust between us; we both know each other well enough to know what to expect and ask. I was afraid that Magenta Skycode's release would be delayed, but our part of the records arrived to here on the day they were supposed to arrive. That to me was a small miracle and highly appreciated.

Are you concerned about the ”What the fuck is this?!! Pop music?”-comments that you will inevitably get from metal fans?

Huh huh. ”What the Fuck is this?!!”-comments will go pretty much unnoticed in here; did someone promise metal? Although I assume that the album will ”open” to metal listeners as well, but if not, then they can refrain from listening to it.

This is one of the reasons why I'm not fond of mentioning Thergothon when doing promotion for This Empty Flow, because these have nothing to do with each other. We could not care less what sort of people listen to Magenta Skycode, because (like I mentioned already) we don't care about categorizing music.

And when it comes to this, is the album ”pop” music, I'm not that keen on answering to that. In my opinion it's not, and as far as I know I don't even listen to ”pop” music.

Jori does all the music and you make all the lyrics in This Empty Flow, how did this come about? Are you satisfied with the album and where do you see the band heading in the future?

Division of labor inside the band may change according to needs of particular songs. On the album the credits were mentioned in the way you put it, because we had to write something to the booklet. Jori did play most of the instruments in the studio, and also the credit for the songs goes to Jori.

As such, we are satisfied with the album, though it would sound a little bit different if done today. Magenta Skycode gives a good picture of what This Empty Flow is, at least was, at the end of 1995. The band will of course develop into new directions, but I believe that we will retain recognizable sound also in the future. This Empty Flow has found a style that will remain even when experimenting with new things.

As The Cure is an influence to you, what would Fat Bob think about this album (the new Cure)?

If the part in the brackets means the latest album from The Cure, my answer is that their last brilliant album was Disintegration. But if you mean Magenta Skycode with it, I really don't understand what you are on about. I can't imagine The Cure making an album like that.

There's no point in denying that there are some similarities, for example certain ”roundness” in some of the guitar parts on the album remind of The Cure. Atmosphere wise I think we are treading different waters.

But to answer to your question; I really don't know, ask from Fat Bob if you ever meet him (not that he would have heard the album anyway).

Does the sad, bleak music reflect your personalities well? Are you really that miserable? Can you imagine doing a happy song for a change?

Our music rather reflects certain periods that we have been through and (both mental and physical) states we have visited. Happy music rarely sounds good and more often than that, it sounds pretentious...but to each his/her own, right?

Sad and anxious feelings transforms into words onto a paper and to a voice in the air somehow better, for some unknown reason. I'm sure there are equal amount of happy moments in life than what there are sad ones, but who would be interested in making music when you are happy, when you can please yourself with so many other ways during those moments?

So I reckon Jori listens to indiepop instead of metal nowadays?

And again you let me split hairs with your categories! I could answer that I don't know what you mean with indiepop etc. But I think that the music Jori listens to influences his playing, the guitar parts are closer to let's say, Cocteau Twins or Lush, than to Red Hot Chili Peppers or Sepultura...

Towards Distant? Where are the spoken parts taken from

The spoken parts are Soviet cosmonauts' messages and the most ”disturbing” of them contains a cosmonaut's last words before a fatal accident. We discovered these when we were in the studio and decided to use them, because we felt that they suited well with the ”far-away” atmosphere of the song.

Your lyrics comes across as very personal. Ever noticed them being too personal?

The most personal lyrics that I have written have never been published, because they reveal too much about me. Which is a shame because they happen to be the best lyrics I have written. The writing process in itself is not painful, the words come to paper almost automatically in a certain state of mind. Then afterwards I will go through what I have written and why.

The lyrics I have written to This Empty Flow are mostly pretty personal, like you pointed out, in that they deal mostly with relationships (and lack of them or problems in them), things that I would not otherwise talk about. Yet I have written them in a way that those involved should not get upset about them.

What sort of impact you wish Magenta Skycode to leaves upon the listeners?

I wish it will leave some impact. Therapeutic.

Is there are a chance to see This Empty Flow live?

I hope there is; we have been practicing at our own slow pace for a possible live performance. We are not going to embark on any tours though, and there probably would not be a demand for such anyway. But it would be an experience to play those songs at some place. In the right place we could offer stimulation not just for the ears, but also for the eyes...

If you could meet some artist, who would that be and why?

I write these six names to here: Carl McCoy, Peter Christophersson, B. Lustmord, H.R. Giger, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Polly Jean Harvey. You throw the dice to choose one. One of these six, because I admire and respect the art that they have done.

Thank you.

Ps. I want to point out that I answered all questions alone, hence all the opinions are mine. Opinions of the other members of This Empty Flow should be asked from them.

Although their best song was on Plastic Passion's compilation tape, namely Of Blossom And Decay. Was this song later released on cd?

Indeed it was; marks the ending song on both the Nowafter compilation and the Useless and Empty Songs mini. Nowafter is worthy of investigation for the first half alone, which contains the six songs from the final recording sessions the band had in 1997. They are some of the most memorable, agile and optimistic tunes This Empty Flow ever made, which to me is a good thing but could of course be a turn-off to somebody else. Thanks for the interview, some details there I haven't seen being discussed in other TEF interviews._________________http://qvadrivivm.blogspot.com

I've heard about this band since ages, but listened to them only today. The music is great, so is there a CD version on the works? I have no cash for expensive stuff these days..._________________Scrutare et vide quia propheta a Galilaea non surgit!
http://www.discogs.com/seller/Xeniteia

You should probably get the DCD called The Album released by Eibon. It comes with the full Magenta Skycode album on one CD and rare and unreleased tracks on the other. Seems to be available in various European webstores and distros including Eibon, Aural and Equilibrium; Google will help you with prices and locations._________________http://qvadrivivm.blogspot.com

Are you concerned about the ”What the fuck is this?!! Pop music?”-comments that you will inevitably get from metal fans?

Haha! I have to admit thinking something like that the first time I heard Magenta Skycode. Yes, I picked it up because I liked Thergothon, I also happened to find the CD 2nd hand in a record store very shortly after it was initially released. No doubt some other Metal type had purchased it and thought something like ”What the fuck is this?!! Pop music?”- before promptly re-selling it. I do like it in a way, but seldom listen to it._________________Only Booze is Real....

You should probably get the DCD called The Album released by Eibon. It comes with the full Magenta Skycode album on one CD and rare and unreleased tracks on the other. Seems to be available in various European webstores and distros including Eibon, Aural and Equilibrium; Google will help you with prices and locations.

Thanks a lot ! This one seems to come at a regular price. The vinyl cover looks ten times better though._________________Scrutare et vide quia propheta a Galilaea non surgit!
http://www.discogs.com/seller/Xeniteia